Surviving The Fourth Calamity

Chapter 1355: Chapter 1145: Regaining Calm, Letting Go of the Past

”But hasn’t she always slept so soundly?” Lynn asked with a hint of confusion. ”The storms Talos raised swept over that great glacier countless times, and she didn’t feel a thing.

I thought Olypher wasn’t really hiding in the Floating Ice Sea outside Icewind Valley, as the rumors say!

Wasn’t she always in the Great Glacier over in the eastern Damarra Kingdom?”

”If she stayed there, Talos would have likely found her long ago,” Hill chuckled. ”Even though she hails from Damara, that country betrayed her long ago after she was weakened by Talos.”

”Though it was done quite poorly... it’s understandable,” Lynn thought for a moment before speaking. ”Evil deities, after all, have always had the weak yielding to the strong, without reason.”

He walked over and glanced lightly at the documents on the table... He didn’t care about what happened in the North, and receiving Martha’s notice, Lynn who had seen the data naturally came up to divert Hill’s attention.

Lynn gently placed a hand on Hill’s shoulder, bent down, and smiled, ”With this, Olypher should have thoroughly embodied cold and winter in herself, right?

Would the beautiful and lovely Goddess Agleya be willing to accept her existence?”

”Agleya wouldn’t bother with the Toril Pantheon,” Hill laughed. ”But if she rejoins the Neutral Faction, we would welcome her into Luskan.

After all, she still has a temple outside the city!

The Undead Tribe would certainly be willing to have a newly emerged deity to cooperate with, they can even interact with Ambori!”

Hill realized... compared to Olypher, Lynn was definitely more interested in the battle in the Stellar Realm.

His friend got the news, feared he’d be upset, and so came here especially.

He gently patted Lynn’s hand, indicating he was okay... After so long, these things no longer hurt him.

Rather, knowing the truth set Hill’s mind at ease about some matters... He sometimes wondered, had he given Alice too much freedom, if... that time, when the two cats decided to leave their comfortable valley and start their own business, he had firmly kept Alice behind, would things have been better?

These documents told him the outcome... whether Alice fell in love with Merkel or not, the end would have been tragic.

If he hadn’t come to Toril, and found out the truth with the Undead Tribe... the story of the White Wolf God and the Lake Goddess might repeat in Teraxil every ten thousand years.

The Goddess of the Earth, even knowing something was amiss, couldn’t bring herself, given her gentle nature, to slay all the magical beasts running across the land.

”The past pain... can’t change,” Hill said quietly. ”We can only hope that it can be stopped in the future.”

”William has already issued invitations through the Harpist Alliance to all the kind and neutral but leaning kind Archmages, and I’ve also agreed to set aside a plot of land next to the Agleya Magic Academy for them to use as a research center.” Lynn lowered his head to comfort him, ”We’re bound to find a way to break those spells.

Though the former Goddess of Magic had many flaws, one thing she said remains a recognized truth in the world of mages... There’s no spell effect that can’t be undone, much less an absolutely invincible spell.”

Hill nodded with a smile, ”I understand. Hmm... since William didn’t contact us before issuing the bounty, it seems he’s planning to provide the experiment materials himself.

Then... I’ll take care of the research center!

Daily living supplies will be provided by Agleya; it will come from my warehouse.”

”The town hall’s warehouse is already well stocked,” Lynn turned away, sitting down nearby.

”There’s no need to say more, not to mention this is my private matter, no need to use public funds.

What else can be done with all those odds and ends in my warehouse besides selling them?

What use do I have for those scattered gold coins?” Hill blinked, ”If it weren’t for your insistence on self-sufficiency...”

”A healthy city must have a continuous flow of money to give residents the belief that hard work will lead to a better life.

No matter who they are, they must see their own value to live healthily and happily.” Lynn shook his head, ”If it’s all provided by you, it’ll only raise a crowd of indolent spirits... Hill, the elves have very painful lessons from this.

Why did so many Elven Empires treat Lansendel as an honored guest in those days?

Wasn’t it because life was too easy, too... ordinary? All the time outside of eating was spent in play... The elves’ emotional chaos is also related to their constant pursuit of changes in life.

Especially those elf nobles.

Reaching upwards but never reaching, looking down but seeing nothing, they only sought excitement.

In the end, they threw away the lives of billions of elves together for excitement.

If it weren’t for their frenzied worship, and their even more devout performance than the Chosen of the Lord of Dawn... Lansendel’s outrageous plans wouldn’t have been so easy to execute... No matter how wealthy the Church of the Lord of Dawn was, it would have been a dream to gather those rare materials in just a century.

Many people say AO plotted against the Lord of Dawn and the Elven Empire, but I agree with what my Miliel says: AO never even thought they could actually succeed.

That’s why he resorted to such drastic measures when faced with the situation.

Otherwise, AO generally doesn’t like to show his presence; although he designs various things from behind the scenes, he seldom stands at the forefront.

He usually just... watches the people and deities of Toril struggle within their destiny, no matter the outcome, it’s all ’just do it again’ for him.

I know, you never intended to just support the Agleya citizens... but, Hill, knowing that the city’s warehouse will always have money you’re supplying to fall back on, there will always be those who give up trying.

The common folk of the Ferun Great Land aren’t even as good as the elves, at least they will pursue an improvement in their quality of life beyond mere sustenance.

Though no one wants to fall behind, right now, despite Agleya’s seeming prosperity, in many ways it still can’t compare to Silvermoon City.

That refined and tranquil artistic style took Elaströ centuries to cultivate.

For us in Agleya to reach that stage, it’ll take at least a few decades, and that’s only because our population is predominantly of the kind alignment, which is easier to manage.”

Hill tilted his head, ”Do we have this many commoners now?”

He understood the principle, but the initial residents of Agleya were primarily families of professionals, and most of the refugees were placed in villages outside to farm.

He distinctly remembered there were only a few thousand people?

Did it really grow this much in just a few short years?

”You are such a lazy ruler!” Lynn turned his head, his pronunciation clear and articulate... it seems he’s been getting along well with the Undead Tribe.

Hill spread his hands, smiling, ”Ah, what can I do with such a capable municipal officer?”

Lynn shook his head helplessly, ”A few cities in Sword Bay have already been destroyed!

In the minds of the common folk, Agleya is the only safe place, so everyone who could came here... Those who know they don’t qualify but don’t want to battle with half-orcs every few years mostly went to Baldur’s Gate.

Only the unafraid went to Luskan.

So, the number of common folk is now nearly fifty thousand.”

Hill looked at him, bewildered, ”Is that many?”

Lynn closed his eyes helplessly, ”Have you been associating too much with the Undead, so that you’re numb to numbers?

I remember the population of Teraxil isn’t that large either!

Without counting outsiders, Silvermoon City’s own residents barely number 40,000!

In Toril, any city with over 100,000 inhabitants can be called a mega-city.

Otherwise, why do you think Deepwater City was once called the Shining City That Never Falls?”

Hill scratched his head, ”Ah, maybe it’s because I’ve always lived in the countryside, and in my own domain, apart from the Undead Tribe, the human population has never exceeded ten.”

So I really have no sense of city populations.”

Lynn suddenly halted, ”Never mind... Agleya City was my matter from the start.”

Originally, Hill must have realized that a conflict between Coron and Mystra was inevitable, so he specifically pulled him, a half-elf from the Supreme Forest, away before things turned ugly... Otherwise, his fate could have been worse than Azuth’s son.

Silvermoon City always had many people vying for one position, not to mention managing a forest town quite well... Such fruit-plucking incidents happen in every world.

The more prosperous the place, the more likely it’ll happen, after all... there’s a limited number of large, round, and delicious peaches, and of course there’ll be competition.

In the past, Lynn, with both the Singer and the Elven factions behind him, naturally had nothing to fear.

But, if Mystra did fall out with those two factions, he would become the prime target.

That’s why Lynn worked so diligently to build up Agleya City... he absolutely wouldn’t let his friend’s painstaking efforts go to waste.

Hill stood up, ”Then... shall we go build the research center? Did William provide any blueprints?

This place is important, I know, but if you leave the design to me, I’m not interested at all.”

”He sent over a few blueprints, you can pick one you like; I don’t think it makes much difference, either a circular building or a diamond-shaped one.” Lynn fished several sheets out from his ring and showed them to Hill.

”Tch~ never mind, let’s go with the diamond one then!”